Morgan Hill began its month-long celebration of June as Pride Month at the June 1 Pridefest, which was held at the City Hall campus to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community.
The June 1 event featured speakers, entertainment, advocacy and education. The celebration kicked off with a raising of the Pride flag over City Hall.
Celebrated annually in June, Pride Month acknowledges the 1969 Stonewall Riots in Manhattan, a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.
Among the speakers was City Councilmember Rene Spring, who is Morgan Hill’s first openly gay elected councilmember. Spring also led the raising of the Pride flag, which will fly over city facilities throughout the month of June.
Spring told the crowd that raising the rainbow flag “sends a clear signal” that Morgan Hill is a diverse and inclusive city that welcomes everyone. He noted that the LGBTQIA+ community continues to face challenges, and urged the audience to promote acceptance wherever they are.
“During Pride month, let’s celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of our LGBTQIA+ community, and let’s work together to face the many challenges our community still faces: being bullied by some and to get accepted for who we are and the way we are, being homeless as a young person, or thinking of suicide, to hiding your true self at work or to being lonely as senior,” Spring said. “There are still so many places in this country and across the globe that won’t accept us for who we are. The struggle of trans and nonbinary kids is real, even here in Morgan Hill. Let’s work together for an even more inclusive community, and let’s celebrate Pride month together.”
